dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-40858

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.1. An app may be able to access Contacts without user consent.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A permissions bypass vulnerability in macOS allowed applications to access the Contacts database without requiring user consent, violating the expected permission model. The issue stemmed from insufficient authorization checks before granting access to sensitive contact data. This was addressed in macOS Sequoia 15.1 with additional restrictions enforcing proper user consent requirements.

MitigationApply the macOS Sequoia 15.1 security update or later to receive the fix. Organizations should ensure automated patch management deploys this update across managed Mac fleets.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 15.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 15.1 (e.g., 14.x, 13.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm Contacts framework presence
    Verify /System/Library/Frameworks/Contacts.framework exists on the system
    Affected if The Contacts framework is present and the macOS version is below 15.1
  3. Review recently installed applications
    Check /Applications folder and ~/Applications for third-party apps installed after the last OS update
    Affected if Any untrusted or unknown applications were installed on a macOS version prior to 15.1

A system is affected if it runs any version of macOS earlier than 15.1 and has the Contacts framework present, as the vulnerability allows local applications to bypass Contacts permission prompts.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 15.1 or later
Fixed in 15.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS Sequoia 15.1 security update or later to receive the fix. Organizations should ensure automated patch management deploys this update across managed Mac fleets.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.1

  1. Open System Settings on your Mac
  2. Navigate to General > Software Update
  3. Click 'Check for Update' or allow automatic updates
  4. If macOS 15.1 (Sequoia) is available, click 'Update Now' to install it
  5. Restart your Mac if prompted to complete the installation
  6. Alternatively, open the App Store, go to the Updates tab, and install the macOS Sequoia 15.1 update if listed

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-40858 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data